Greenyard has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mykogen Polska S.A. (collectively “Mykogen”), a leading manufacturer of top quality mushroom substrate.
The company has four production facilities, located in Poland and Ukraine. Substrate is the key and highest value-added raw material used in mushroom production. Mykogen’s quality growing media are essential in producing high quality mushrooms in the growing production markets of Central and Eastern Europe.
The vast majority of Mykogen’s operations are in Poland, Europe’s largest mushroom producer. During the last 4 years, Mykogen’s sales growth has exceeded 8% per annum (CAGR) with FY 2017 sales expected to approach € 40 million.
The addition of Mykogen to Greenyard yields a number of important strategic benefits, Greenyard explains. Firstly, Greenyard further enhances its direct connection to the grower by becoming a key supplier to the major mushroom growers.
Secondly, increasing its access to hand-picked and mechanically harvested mushrooms the group strengthens its positioning in the mushroom market place creating opportunities for cross-divisional synergies with the Fresh, Frozen, Prepared (Lutèce) and Horticulture divisions within Greenyard.
Thirdly, the growing production volumes of the highly value added substrates in Poland, Ukraine and neighbouring markets are beneficial to the group’s growth rate.
Lastly, the transaction raises the strategic profile of its Horticulture business, positioning it for further strategic development, while at the same time improving Greenyard’s margin structure and reducing earnings volatility.
Transaction Details The purchase price is approximately € 93 million. In 2016, Mykogen achieved EBITDA of approximately € 13.5 million (roughly 80% of the EBITDA was generated from the Polish operations).
Source: Fresh Plaza
Heineken has entered into an agreement with Sanyo Whisbih Group to take over majority ownership of the Long Chuan Zuan Co brewery in Taiwan. With this investment in local production, Heineken says it will become the first international brewer to have a brewery in the country.
Mondelēz International plans to reopen a potato chip plant, located on the outskirts of Kyiv, that was damaged in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to Reuters. The facility, which was closed in March after suffering serious damage, will resume production while still undergoing repairs, a company spokesperson told Reuters.
Diageo has announced it will wind down its Russian business operations over the next six months, with plans to fully withdraw by the end of the year, according to Reuters. In March, the drinks giant suspended all exports of its products to Russia as well as the manufacturing of its beers, which are brewed locally under license by third parties.